Southern Africa Year in Review 2009

As 2009 winds down, here’s a wrap up of the year’s highlights from the southern Africa region. From elections, to assassinations, to elections, to awards ,to elections, to boycotts, to elections, to what was all in all a fairly smooth year compared to what might have been, here are a few notes about human rights conditions in the 12 countries we monitor for Amnesty International USA.

Angola
Angola was supposed to hold presidential elections this year but didn’t. Current (and for the last 30 years) president, dos Santos, said constitutional reform must come first and this will take another two years. Constitutional reform=good. Using it as an excuse to delay democratic elections=bad.

Forced evictions continued in 2009 in Angola. Amnesty International continues to call for an end to illegal evictions and for just compensation for forcibly displaced persons in Angola.

On a positive note, Prisoner of Conscience Fernando Lelo was released this year. Lelo is a journalist imprisoned for criticizing above noted president. However, those who were tried and convicted with him remain incarcerated. Lelo directly credited Amnesty activists for their efforts on his behalf. Pat yourselves on the back for a job well done!

Guinea BissauOne election not anticipated this year occurred in Guinea Bissau-but it tends to follow when you assassinate your head of state. Guinea Bissau was forced into elections this year after the head of the army was killed, prompting the tit-for-tat killing of President Vieira. Subsequently, two more men linked to the dead president and set to campaign for the sudden vacancy were also killed. And you thought politics in the US played dirty.

Since elections in July, things have been relatively calm, but Guinea Bissau is a small country overrun with small arms and drug running. On a brighter note, a campaign to lower maternal mortality rates-amongst some of the highest in the world-is showing success.

Lesotho
Yes, this is really a sovereign nation. Find it on a map, I dare you! Lesotho has alot of great social service programming going on, but struggles with food insecurity due to poor agricultural output caused by endless cycles of drought and flood combined with a decimated population due to HIV/AIDS. As a result, poverty in Lesotho is crushing. A growing textile industry offers hope for income diversification and less dependence on a climate altered landscape for sustainability.

Malawi
Madonna broke ground on a school her charitable organization will fund and adopted a daughter. I assume this is the only reason most people have even heard the word Malawi. But it’s this whole country of people, most of whom could care less about Madonna. Imagine that.

Mozambique
Mozambique held presidential and parliamentarian elections in October. (Sensing a theme yet? Elections, elections everywhere.) There were pockets of violence prior to polling day, but the election itself was relatively quiet and things have been calm since. The ruling party Frelamo retained it’s hold on government and former rebel group-cum-political party Renamo seems to be fading into insignificance, except in it’s own mind.

Amnesty International released an updated report in November regarding human rights abuses committed by the police in Mozambique. Extra-judicial killings occur at an alarming frequency and police act with impunity. Basically, you don’t want to tangle with the law-you aren’t likely to win. However, just last week President Guebeza addressed a graduating class of police officers and impressed upon them the importance of recognizing human rights in their work. Coincidence this occurs a month after Amnesty activists are urged to take action by contacting President Guebeza to urge him to end police impunity? I think not! Rock on, Amnesty peeps! Keep up the pressure by sending more letters!

Two of the largest issues in Namibia are hunger and HIV prevalence. When combined, it creates an even more challenging problem-people can’t take ARV’s without food because they become nauseous and chronic lack of food makes it harder to increase T-cell counts and fight off the co-morbid infections often seen with HIV.

Sao Tome y Principe
Two major things about this tiny island nation-it found oil in it’s territorial waters and it’s sinking. Hmmm…a natural resource that can help the gross national product by becoming a major oil producer at the expense of pumping more carbon fuels into the atmosphere which will further raise the earth’s core temperature and accelerate the pace at which the nation is lost to seawater. Talk about your conundrums.

South AfricaGuess what! That’s right-another election! South Africans went to the polls in April and overwhelmingly reaffirmed the ANC party as the dominant force in politics. Zuma was sworn in and HIV/AIDS policies are beginning to move forward, reversing the dark ages policies of his predecessor. Health care for women in rural areas remains an issue, however, and Amnesty calls upon the government to make affirmative changes to allow accessible health care in rural areas.

Incidents of xenophobia against immigrants continued throughout the year, Zuma was officially appointed as negotiator for the Zimbabwe transitional government and the Dalai Lama was stopped at the border in March; but there was really only one thing on everyones mind-the World Cup. And it doesn’t even happen until June of 2010. So here’s a preview of the South Africa year end review for next year-World Cup. Now you can skip this section 12 months from now.

SwazilandIf you found Lesotho, you found Swaziland and probably thought “There are TWO other countries there! I thought that was all South Africa!” But you would be wrong. Swaziland is the last monarchy in Africa and they sure don’t let you forget it. Political opposition is firmly quashed in Swazi, through the use of repressive laws like anti-terrorism legislation which is really just an excuse to lock up opposition party members.

Mario Masuku was jailed and tried under this law earlier in the year but was acquitted. Upon his release from prison, however, prison guards beat the stuffing out of some supporters and journalists waiting outside the prison for him. Seriously not cool, King Mswati. Seems like picking a new bride every year is distracting you from practicing good governance and following human rights principles.

Zambia
Zambia experienced a crack down on human rights this past year. Proposed legislation requiring registration of human rights organizations that will potentially force many out of operation was signed into law by President Banda. And a newspaper editor went on trial on obscenity charges for exposing shameful conditions one woman faced trying to access health care. The charges were eventually dropped.

Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe had a relatively quiet year. Well, as compared to last year-and that is a very good thing. The transitional government was sworn in mid-February and limped along since. Inflation is down dramatically but it is still a challenge for Zimbabweans to afford basic necessities. Human rights violations and political violence continue but at a lesser rate than seen last year. Tsvangirai boycotted the transitional government in October to force the hand of regional leaders in negotiating violations of the Global Political Agreement and met with minor success.

Amnesty International also called upon the displaced victims of forced removals to be compensated by the government. Zimbabwe has forcibly evicted nearly three-quarters of a million people from their homes and informal businesses in the last five years.

The Southern Africa Country Specialists wish you a happy new year. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with what’s happening in the region in 2010.

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About Sarah Hager

Sarah Hager is a volunteer leader at Amnesty International USA, serving as Chair of the Southern Africa Co-Group where she guides the efforts of Country Specialists monitoring human rights in twelve countries.View all postsRSS Feed@soafricaaiusa on Twitter

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10 thoughts on “Southern Africa Year in Review 2009”

Fine… Keep up the good work. However, please keep in mind, and mention the part the West (powerful world-ruling countries) are playing in the African mess. If the West wanted Africa to be a thriving continent governed by principles of justice, it would have happened already. I'm sure you realize that keeping Africa the way it is now: destitute and powerless is a result of their efforts. I challenge you to do something about it!

Fine… Keep up the good work. However, please keep in mind, and mention the part the West (powerful world-ruling countries) are playing in the African mess. If the West wanted Africa to be a thriving continent governed by principles of justice, it would have happened already. I’m sure you realize that keeping Africa the way it is now: destitute and powerless is a result of their efforts. I challenge you to do something about it!

Hi Al-
You raise a valid point that Western countries have alot to answer for in terms of past historical actions, behaviors, attitudes, beliefs and general all around nastiness towards the African continent. And it is also true that the West has fallen woefully short in helping it's global neighbors achieve better standards of living through appropriate developmental aid distributed at appropriate levels, and yes, a lingering colonialistic attitude in many ways toward the continent. However, it is not appropriate to always beat that drum every single instance I post a blog about southern Africa. And I hope you are not challenging me on my own to change the actions, behaviors, attitudes, beliefs and general all around apathy of the northern hemisphere (including China) toward Africa. That is a bit of a daunting task even for me! But I do think the entire northern hemisphere (including China) and all the heads of states and citizens need to be challenged in that way and it is Amnesty International's job to point out when it needs to occur.

So let me know whenever you think I missed an opportunity to point out something in a post and I will try to be mindful, when it's appropriate, to point out where the West/northern hemisphere should be standing up instead of continuing to stand by in regards to Africa.

Simon-
Thank you for catching my sloppy language. You are correct. It should read "last absolute monarchy." Both Lesotho and Morocco are constitutional monarchies.

In regards to the textile industry in Lesotho, the entire country is under tremendous pressure in every possible conceivable manner. It is not that easy to diversify and develop new industries and it is something that many of Lesotho's neighbors struggle with-particularly South Africa and Botswana in moving away from a dependence on extractive industries. The textile industry in Lesotho is predominantly under pressure from cheap imports from China and cheaper production costs elsewhere in the world. But the textile industry as a whole has done much in Lesotho to employ women and others in desparate need of wages, and hopefully by letting people know the industry even exists at all in that nation, might assist in some small fashion.
Sarah

Hi Al-
You raise a valid point that Western countries have alot to answer for in terms of past historical actions, behaviors, attitudes, beliefs and general all around nastiness towards the African continent. And it is also true that the West has fallen woefully short in helping it’s global neighbors achieve better standards of living through appropriate developmental aid distributed at appropriate levels, and yes, a lingering colonialistic attitude in many ways toward the continent. However, it is not appropriate to always beat that drum every single instance I post a blog about southern Africa. And I hope you are not challenging me on my own to change the actions, behaviors, attitudes, beliefs and general all around apathy of the northern hemisphere (including China) toward Africa. That is a bit of a daunting task even for me! But I do think the entire northern hemisphere (including China) and all the heads of states and citizens need to be challenged in that way and it is Amnesty International’s job to point out when it needs to occur.

So let me know whenever you think I missed an opportunity to point out something in a post and I will try to be mindful, when it’s appropriate, to point out where the West/northern hemisphere should be standing up instead of continuing to stand by in regards to Africa.

Simon-
Thank you for catching my sloppy language. You are correct. It should read “last absolute monarchy.” Both Lesotho and Morocco are constitutional monarchies.

In regards to the textile industry in Lesotho, the entire country is under tremendous pressure in every possible conceivable manner. It is not that easy to diversify and develop new industries and it is something that many of Lesotho’s neighbors struggle with-particularly South Africa and Botswana in moving away from a dependence on extractive industries. The textile industry in Lesotho is predominantly under pressure from cheap imports from China and cheaper production costs elsewhere in the world. But the textile industry as a whole has done much in Lesotho to employ women and others in desparate need of wages, and hopefully by letting people know the industry even exists at all in that nation, might assist in some small fashion.
Sarah